Grand Canyon Helicopter tours [ex Vegas]?

[Bill]

As part of an upcoming "White Christmas" holiday, my wife and I have are spending a few days in Las Vegas. We are thinking of doing a helicopter tour from Vegas to the Grand Canyon but there are so many operators to sort through its hard to know who is best and who to choose.

Our preference, ATM, is a 3-4 hour tour which incldes the flight to the canyon, champagne picnic on the floor of the canyon then return with a fly over the LV strip. There are a few companies who do this trip but we can't decide on who to choose.

So, my question is, has any member here done a heli trip out of Vegas and is willing to pass on any information on their experience and if it is worthwhile.

Any info/advice gratefully accepted.

Cheers

Bill

 

[tuapekastar]

Re: Grand Canyon Heli tours

We were there in April, and from memory, used Maverick to take a helo trip out from LAS to the GC. No complaints whatsoever, except for the end when the pilot was positioning for tips (I tipped everywhere I should have in the US, but could not bring myself to tip a helicopter pilot). I'm not home at the moment but I think we went on the 'better' of the two helicopter options offered and it was fine.Trip is about 4 hours hotel-to-hotel, lands on the GC floor, champagne and snacks, and a refuelling stop on the way back. Good flyover of the strip upon return.

So I cannot compare companies, but tip expectations aside, could not fault this one. I'll try and fill in a bit more detail when I'm at home.

PS. Given a choice between helo trip to GC and NZ Southern Alps, NZ would win every time, but this is still a spectacular trip (and obviously this is just my opinion)

 

[drivatruk]

Re: Grand Canyon Heli tours

they are a whole lot of outlets selling discounted helicopter tours from Vegas so wait until you get there to book.
Weekend can be busy but if you are there during the middle of the week there are heaps of seat available.
I paid $414 for the picnic on the bottom of the can yon flight. Worth every cent. picked up from hotel in a stretched limo to the airport and back.
Tipped the pilot 20 for a job well done
Awesome views ad you descend into the Canyon.
U can get cheaper prices for earlier in the day 7am is the cheapest.
The helicopter does sit 4 across the back seat so the middle seats are not as good. Try to avoid them on the way to the canyon as thats when you see more.
The seating is worked out by the pilot depending on the weight.
I didn't use maverick as someone said that don't always leave from McClaren airport but I don't know if thats fact or fiction.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Re: Grand Canyon Heli tours

I second the 'wait until you arrive' to buy anything. Walking down the strip you will get lots of people approaching you to buy tours. We flew (Cessna) from the small Las Vegas airport to the Canyon, followed by helicopter to the bottom, then a short boat ride, helicopter back up, lunch with the indians (nothing special about that - all served on plastic plates) and then a flight home. We saved about 30-40% over the listed price on the brochures by buying it there.

The one thing that stands out was the constant noise from the helicopters all around where we were. They literally leave every few minutes and the noise never stopped. If you are doing a picnic lunch maybe they take you to another part of the canyon where they have less people, but i it wouldn't have been particularly enjoyable where we were!!

As an aside - we went to the IMAX cinema the night before we went on the tour (at Luxor Hotel) and saw a documentary about the canyon which was great! The screen being 11 stories high or whatever it was, in full HD, and brilliant photography meant the canyon itself looked a little underwhelming when we got there!! (so perhaps go to the IMAX the night after you get back if you go!)

 

[Bill]

Re: Grand Canyon Heli tours

Cheers guys, appreciate the input.

If the GC is still on at Imax when we get there I might just take your advice Mel.

 

[robd]

Re: Grand Canyon Heli tours

We did the Grand Canyon tour with picnic and strip flight in August this year. It was definitely a highlight of our trip to Vegas. We went with Sundance Helicoptors and organised it before we left Oz. Our original flight was cancelled due to bad weather but we were able to reschedule to another day, so make sure you plan to do this early in your trip, so you can reschedule if need be.

 

[craven morehead]

Re: Grand Canyon Heli tours

We are booked with Maverick for first week of January :mrgreen:

 

[Travel Guru]

I've done that particular tour, well worth the price.

I used Papillon and no complaints from me.

You could wait but personally I'd stump up the potential extra and pre book to ensure you get the final departure of the dat, the sunset departure as its a brilliant fly over Vegas on return as the lights come on.

TG

 

[Travel Guru]

PS. double check when booking that your tour departs from Las Vegas Airport and not Boulder airport, a couple of them are running identical tours at similar prices from both airports but Boulder is a drive.

TG

 

[Batesy]

Re: Grand Canyon Heli tours

Mrs Batesy and I used sundance helicopters and took an early morning flight when we were there in June 2007. It was great they took a video.
We landed in the canyon and had a light champagne breakfast. When we returned to Vegas they chopper went up the strip.
Highly recommended

 

[BensAdventures]

Re: Grand Canyon Heli tours

In 2010 I chose to take a 1 day trip to the South Rim, and it was incredible. We flew into Grand Canyon Airport, then took a helicopter tour across the Canyon and back! One of the most amazing sites I've ever seen! At the South Rim the Canyon is far more expansive than the West Rim. If you simply have half a day, then West Rim it is, but seriously consider adding a few hours (and maybe $200+), it will blow your mind! Google the differences between, then check out TripAdvisor for recommended tours.

 

[blackcat20]

Re: Grand Canyon Heli tours

In 2010 I chose to take a 1 day trip to the South Rim, and it was incredible. We flew into Grand Canyon Airport, then took a helicopter tour across the Canyon and back! One of the most amazing sites I've ever seen! At the South Rim the Canyon is far more expansive than the West Rim. If you simply have half a day, then West Rim it is, but seriously consider adding a few hours (and maybe $200+), it will blow your mind! Google the differences between, then check out TripAdvisor for recommended tours.

Agree; the south rim is stunning. I've stayed there a couple of times and it is just amazing. I can't remember who I flew with, but mine was done from the GC so not much help. Worth every $$ though.

 

[tuapekastar]

Re: Grand Canyon Heli tours

OK looks like heaps of options available, but a few details as per my previous post:

We booked about 6 days prior and took this tour and 'upgraded' to the Ecostar helicopter (can't compare that to the the 'ordinary' helo as we did not use both). I recall our original choice of time not being available so we had to go earlier (0630 pickup at hotel :shock: - and that was way before our flight time as we were the first pickup of the day for our flight time). My booking states we were up for a $20pp fuel surcharge at the airport (McCarron by the way) - I cannot recall paying it but if it says it, then I guess we did. Prices quoted appear not to have changed since we were there.

The tour blurb does not appear to mention Maverick but that was definitely who we ended up with.

 

[Hvr]

Re: Grand Canyon Heli tours

I did a Maverick tour booked through Viator, in April. Flew from Mc Carron airport and the helicopter ride out was magnificent. I also did the ride down inside the GC and spent about 40 minutes there. Loved it.

As mentioned above the pilot lining up for a tip was a bit disconcerting. He was good and even knew how to talk kilometres and Celsius temperatures. A benefit of him having been trained in Canada.

As others have mentioned book early, you never know if you're going to want to fly on the day that a large tour group comes into town and books out all the seats etc.

 

[Bill]

Re: Grand Canyon Heli tours

Cheers for all the help and advice guys, it is really appreciated.

Looks like the decision is made to go with Sundance and upgrade to the Eco 'copter.

 

[ChrisFlyer]

I second the Sundance suggestion - did the GC trip with them in March. I was lucky enough to be seated up the front in the window seat, so I was able to take plenty of photos - including through the glass part of the floor. Though as others have mentioned, as soon as the pilot heard we were staying at Bellagio, he suddenly started talking about how he would tip fellow pilots $50 if they 'did their job with skill'... Nobody seemed to fall for that haha


Sent from my iPhone using AustFreqFly app

 

[Boris spatsky]

Likewise, i did Subdance in June in the upgraded chopper (EC130 v Squirrel) and it was absolutely fantastic. You won't regret it!

 

[Wannabee]

Re: Grand Canyon Heli tours

I did a Grand Canyon helicopter picnic flight with Sundance in Feb 2010. This was in an AS350 A Star (we call Squirrel). In over 2000 hours in a helicopter, this was the first time I had ever paid and it was absolutely worth it (the second time was in New York). There is a lot of information to sift through on the internet when picking who to go with and we were in the same position as yourself. If I had my time again I would probably go with Maverick. We had a pilot join our company who flew for them and said that there pilots are paid the highest so they generally stay longer and they also have a very new fleet of EC130's.

I will attach a photo of the view from where we landed for our picnic. You will see another group of helicopters in the bottom left. Each company has select landing sites that they can use. I have also attached a photo of the helicopter that we went in (which happened to be involved in a crash killing all 5 on board in Dec 2011). The final report has not been release yet but it looks like it was as either a hydraulics issue (single hydraulic system) or a single servo failed (a main rotor servo had just been replaced). They also had another crash in 2003 when a main rotor blade hit the canyon wall killing all 7 on board (clearly attributed to pilot error). This is not meant to scare and to put it in perspective, Sundance state that they flew over 28,000 hours in 2010 and fly over 160,000 passengers per year. So while tragic, the odds are very low. My post is not intended to pick on Sundance as I am sure you can find things wrong with every operator. Either way it was one of the most magic things I have done in a helicopter (and I had to pay for it for a change).

 

[Princess Fiona]

I did the helicopter tour with the same agent as Travel Guy.
Papillon on an EC-130. Sat next to the pilot. Great views

If I were to go back again I would do the long trip to the South Rim but this trip is good if you are pushed for time.

 

[tuapekastar]

Re: Grand Canyon Heli tours

I did a Maverick tour booked through Viator, in April. Flew from Mc Carron airport and the helicopter ride out was magnificent. I also did the ride down inside the GC and spent about 40 minutes there. Loved it.

As mentioned above the pilot lining up for a tip was a bit disconcerting. He was good and even knew how to talk kilometres and Celsius temperatures. A benefit of him having been trained in Canada.

As others have mentioned book early, you never know if you're going to want to fly on the day that a large tour group comes into town and books out all the seats etc.

It's a wonder I didn't run into you. :mrgreen: